Need help with system

[Phil]

First of all I apologize if posting in wrong area, could not find suitable
place.
My son is currently going to school for economics. They do some large
mathmatical computations. He would like to get a new laptop. We need help
getting what he really needs. He is looking at the Lenovo T500 with a T9400
cpu.
We are wondering if he should go with the 64bit software so he is open to
more memory upgrades? If so should we do xp pro or vista business. Also is
the T9400 suitable. Any expert opinion is greatly appreciated. I do not
really trust the opinion of a customer service rep.

Thank you very much.

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

First of all I apologize if posting in wrong area, could not find suitable
place.
My son is currently going to school for economics. They do some large
mathmatical computations. He would like to get a new laptop. We need help
getting what he really needs. He is looking at the Lenovo T500 with a
T9400
cpu.
We are wondering if he should go with the 64bit software so he is open to
more memory upgrades? If so should we do xp pro or vista business. Also is
the T9400 suitable. Any expert opinion is greatly appreciated. I do not
really trust the opinion of a customer service rep.

Thank you very much.

Buy the best laptop that you can easily afford. If the laptop is to be
connected to a college domain, Vista Business or Ultimate would both be ok..
Home versions of Vista will network, but not to a domain as is the norm in
commercial places..

Presumably, the math stuff would require a spreadsheet, in which case you
also need to consider MS Office 2007..

 

[Phil]

Buy the best laptop that you can easily afford. If the laptop is to be
connected to a college domain, Vista Business or Ultimate would both be ok..
Home versions of Vista will network, but not to a domain as is the norm in
commercial places..

Presumably, the math stuff would require a spreadsheet, in which case you
also need to consider MS Office 2007..

--

Mike Hall - MVP Windows Experience
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

Thank you for the input, as far as the 64bit for memory expansion would you go with that? From what I understand 32bit supports a max of 3gb. sounds like alot today but not sure about next yr. Maybe that is what you were referring to as far as get the best you could afford.

Thank you.

 

[Malke]

First of all I apologize if posting in wrong area, could not find suitable
place.
My son is currently going to school for economics. They do some large
mathmatical computations. He would like to get a new laptop. We need help
getting what he really needs. He is looking at the Lenovo T500 with a
T9400 cpu.
We are wondering if he should go with the 64bit software so he is open to
more memory upgrades? If so should we do xp pro or vista business. Also is
the T9400 suitable. Any expert opinion is greatly appreciated. I do not
really trust the opinion of a customer service rep.

Mike Hall gave you very good advice. I'd just like to add that you really
should check with the school regarding what program(s) is used and what
computer specs are recommended. While really large number-crunching is
normally not done with any consumer-level Windows operating system, it
seems unlikely to me that a school would expect a student to come with Unix
installed on his/her laptop. So I would have your son ask them before you
purchase a laptop. BTW, Thinkpads in general are excellent machines.

Malke

 

[Phil]

Mike Hall gave you very good advice. I'd just like to add that you really
should check with the school regarding what program(s) is used and what
computer specs are recommended. While really large number-crunching is
normally not done with any consumer-level Windows operating system, it
seems unlikely to me that a school would expect a student to come with Unix
installed on his/her laptop. So I would have your son ask them before you
purchase a laptop. BTW, Thinkpads in general are excellent machines.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Good advise, i will pass that on, I do now the program they use is called matlab

I know on his HP desktop with an AMD 3200 processor. it has took longer than
4 hrs to run some computations.

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

I know on his HP desktop with an AMD 3200 processor. it has took longer
than
4 hrs to run some computations.

If the college is running Matlab 2007a or higher, it will work with Vista.
Checking with the college will confirm..

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

I know on his HP desktop with an AMD 3200 processor. it has took longer
than
4 hrs to run some computations.

That would be Vista 32 compatible..

 

[semoi]

For running math based programs there is no difference between 32 and 64 bit
OSes, likewise there will be no difference between 3gs or more of ram.
If you will be running custom apps they may not run on 64 bit oses. While I
find 64 bit Vista performs faster than Vista 32 on the right machine Vista
64 is not compatible with many programs coded for 32 bit and 16 bit OSes.
Mathematical calculations are CPU intensive: the fastest multicore CPU you
can afford, which will also maximize onboard cache, is what you should look
for.
There can also be significant differences in overall laptop performance by
specifying a 7200rpm spindle for the hard drive as there is of necessity
some use of the hard drive for virtual memory regardless of RAM.
I would strongly recommend you look at vendors like Sanger and its ilk:
these are the same, more often better, components than you will get in "name
brand" laptops, particularly and specifically anything named after a fruit,
at a lower price point.

 

[Tom]

I would check with your son to see what software he will be using for these
calculations. I work in higher ed and some of the statistical programs
that are in use still don't fully support 64 bit windows.